Media Content Redirection

ABSTRACT

A content delivery server may allow users to redirect browsed content from one system to another. A user may install or activate a plug-in to a browser, such as an Internet browser, and the plug-in may be linked to the user&#39;s account on another service. As the user browses content from the browser, the user may select a command to cause the browsed content to be delivered to the other service, ingested by the other service, and made available to the user from the other service.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to, and is a continuation of,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/542,187, filed Jul. 5, 2012, andentitled “Media Content Redirection,” which is hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of digitial distribution of content, such as streamingmedia sites, there is a growing universe of media that users want toaccess. There is also a growing universe of ways in which users want toaccess that content. Users today have access to smart phones, tabletcomputing devices, video game consoles, Internet-ready televisions, anda plethora of other electronic devices on which they may wish to accessmedia content such as video programs, music, and the like.

Accordingly, there remains an ever-present need to offer usersconvenience in their viewing options, and an ever-present need to havedisparate sources of content accessible by common devices.

SUMMARY

Features described herein relate generally to allowing users to browsenetworks, such as the Internet, on a first computing device, and thenhave some of that network content automatically (or otherwise) forwardedto another device (e.g., their home or cloud DVR) for storage orconsumption on a second device (e.g., a DVR, or another associated videodisplay). As part of that forwarding, the user's browser may be linkedwith a content delivery service, with whom the user has an existingaccount, for example, for on demand viewing of streaming content on adifferent device. For example, a user may browse the Internet (oranother network) at a public library computer terminal, and press a“Send to My TV” button to have a video file added to the user'splaylist, such as a home or cloud-based DVR playlist.

In some embodiments, the user's browser can tag a network site's (e.g.,an Internet site's) video content offered by a first service (e.g., theoperator of the network site), and send resource identificationinformation (e.g., an address) for the tagged content to the contentdelivery server of a different service (or another device associatedwith the user's content provider), and the server may then retrieve thecontent from the network site, transcode the content to a differentformat, and begin streaming (or otherwise present) the content to theuser's secondary device, such as the user's DVR.

In some embodiments, the content server can ingest the requested contentfrom the network site in portions, and transcode the content inportions, to make portions of the content available for streaming beforethe entire content is available. This may allow users to begin viewing atranscoded stream of network content (e.g., Internet content) before thecontent server has completed transcoding the content in its entirety.

In some embodiments, a user may skip past portions of the content duringplayback, and the content server may skip over those portions totranscode the portions that the user actually requests to view orconsume. When the playback is ended, the content server may examine itsoutput file, and identify gaps in the transcoding that were due to theuser's skipping, and the content server can proceed to transcode thosegaps and patch the gaps.

In some embodiments, a user's redirected network content can bepresented as an option along with the user's other listings of contentfrom the content server. For example, a client interface, such as anelectronic program guide (EPG) listing, may include an entry forredirected network content; or redirected content can appear in alisting of available videos on demand

This summary is not intended to identify critical or essential featuresof the disclosures herein, but instead merely summarizes certainfeatures and variations thereof. Other details and features will also bedescribed in the sections that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some features herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware and software platform on whichvarious elements described herein can be implemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process flow embodying features describedherein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process flow for an ingestion process.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example browser interface.

FIGS. 6-7 illustrate example user interfaces that can be used to accessredirected media content.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example network on which various elementsdescribed herein can be implemented.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process flow for social contentredirection of content.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example user interface employing featuresdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information distribution network 100 onwhich many of the various features described herein may be implemented.Network 100 may be any type of information distribution network, such assatellite, telephone, cellular, wireless, etc. One example may be anoptical fiber network, a coaxial cable network or a hybrid fiber/coaxdistribution network. Such networks 100 use a series of interconnectedcommunication links 101 (e.g., coaxial cables, optical fibers, wireless,etc.) to connect multiple homes 102 to a local office 103 (e.g., localcache server, central office, headend, etc.). The local office 103 maytransmit downstream information signals onto the links 101, and eachhome 102 may have a receiver used to receive and process those signals.

There may be one link 101 originating from the local office 103, and itmay be split a number of times to distribute the signal to various homes102 in the vicinity (which may be many miles) of the local office 103.The link 101 may include components not illustrated, such as splitters,filters, amplifiers, etc. to help convey the signal clearly, but ingeneral each split introduces a bit of signal degradation. Portions ofthe links 101 may also be implemented with fiber-optic cable, whileother portions may be implemented with coaxial cable, other lines, orwireless communication paths.

The local office 103 may include an interface 104, such as a modemtermination system (MTS), which may be a computing device configured tomanage communications between devices on the network of links 101 andbackend devices such as servers 105-107 (to be discussed further below).The MTS may be as specified in a standard, such as the Data Over CableService Interface Specification (DOCSIS) standard, published by CableTelevision Laboratories, Inc. (a.k.a. CableLabs), or it may be a similaror modified device instead. The MTS may be configured to place data onone or more downstream frequencies to be received by modems at thevarious homes 102, and to receive upstream communications from thosemodems on one or more upstream frequencies. The local office 103 mayalso include one or more network interfaces 108, which can permit thelocal office 103 to communicate with various other external networks109. These networks 109 may include, for example, networks of Internetdevices, telephone networks, cellular telephone networks, fiber opticnetworks, local wireless networks (e.g., WiMAX), satellite networks, andany other desired network, and the interface 108 may include thecorresponding circuitry needed to communicate on the network 109, and toother devices on the network such as a cellular telephone network andits corresponding cell phones.

As noted above, the local office 103 may include a variety of servers105-107 that may be configured to perform various functions. Forexample, the local office 103 may include a push notification server105. The push notification server 105 may generate push notifications todeliver data and/or commands to the various homes 102 in the network (ormore specifically, to the devices in the homes 102 that are configuredto detect such notifications). The local office 103 may also include acontent server 106. The content server 106 may be one or more computingdevices that are configured to provide content to users in the homes.This content may be, for example, video on demand movies, televisionprograms, songs, text listings, etc. The content server 106 may includesoftware to validate user identities and entitlements, locate andretrieve requested content, encrypt the content, and initiate delivery(e.g., streaming) of the content to the requesting user and/or device.

The local office 103 may also include one or more application servers107. An application server 107 may be a computing device configured tooffer any desired service, and may run various languages and operatingsystems (e.g., servlets and JSP pages running on Tomcat/MySQL, OSX, BSD,Ubuntu, Redhat, HTMLS, JavaScript, AJAX and COMET). For example, anapplication server may be responsible for collecting television programlistings information and generating a data download for electronicprogram guide listings. Another application server may be responsiblefor monitoring user viewing habits and collecting that information foruse in selecting advertisements. Another application server may beresponsible for formatting and inserting advertisements in a videostream being transmitted to the homes 102. And as will be discussed ingreater detail below, another application server may be responsible forreceiving user remote control commands, and processing them to providean intelligent remote control experience.

An example home 102 a may include an interface 120. The interface 120,in one embodiment, may have a device 110 (e.g., modem, optical coupler,wireless antenna, etc.), which may include transmitters and receiversused to communicate on the links 101 and with the local office 103. Thedevice 110 may be, for example, a coaxial cable modem (for coaxial cablelinks 101), a fiber interface node (for fiber optic links 101), or anyother desired modem device. The modem 110 may be connected to, or be apart of, a gateway interface device 111. The gateway interface device111 may be a computing device that communicates with the modem 110 toallow one or more other devices in the home to communicate with thelocal office 103 and other devices beyond the local office. The gateway111 may be a set-top box (STB), digital video recorder (DVR), computerserver, or any other desired computing device. The gateway 111 may alsoinclude (not shown) local network interfaces to provide communicationsignals to devices in the home, such as televisions 112, additional STBs113, personal computers 114, laptop computers 115, wireless devices 116(wireless laptops and netbooks, mobile phones, mobile televisions,personal digital assistants (PDA), etc.), and any other desired devices.Examples of the local network interfaces include Multimedia Over CoaxAlliance (MoCA) interfaces, Ethernet interfaces, universal serial bus(USB) interfaces, wireless interfaces (e.g., IEEE 802.11), Bluetoothinterfaces, and others. The system may also include one or more externalcomputing devices 117, content sources 118 (e.g., sources of videofiles, audio files, audiovideo files, and the like), and web servers 119(e.g., a host of an Internet site that offers access to Internetcontent, such as the content stored at the content source 118).

FIG. 2 illustrates general hardware (some or all of which may beimplemented in software) elements that can be used to implement any ofthe various computing devices discussed above. The computing device 200may include one or more processors 201, which may execute instructionsof a computer program to perform any of the features described herein.The instructions may be stored in any type of computer-readable mediumor memory, to configure the operation of the processor 201. For example,instructions may be stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 202, randomaccess memory (RAM) 203, removable media 204, such as a Universal SerialBus (USB) drive, compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD),floppy disk drive, or any other desired electronic storage medium.Instructions may also be stored in an attached (or internal) hard drive205. The computing device 200 may include one or more output devices,such as a display 206 (or an external television), and may include oneor more output device controllers 207, such as a video processor. Theremay also be one or more user input devices 208, such as a remotecontrol, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, microphone, etc. The computingdevice 200 may also include one or more network interfaces, such asinput/output circuits 209 (such as a network card) to communicate withan external network 210. The network interface may be a wired interface,wireless interface, or a combination of the two. In some embodiments,the interface 209 may include a modem (e.g., a cable modem), and network210 may include the communication lines 101 discussed above, theexternal network 109, an in-home network, a provider's wireless,coaxial, fiber, or hybrid fiber/coaxial distribution system (e.g., aDOCSIS network), or any other desired network.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process embodying some of the variousconcepts described herein. The individual steps may be performed by acomputing device, such as a content server 106, user device 114, or anyother desired device. The examples discussed below are merely examples,and the devices and servers can be implemented on any desired networkcomputing device. In step 301, the process can optionally begin with theinstallation of a plug-in software module to a network browser, such asINTERNET EXPLORER™ by Microsoft, or a local network browser. The plug-inmay be an application or additional software to the browser, or it canbe built-in and included with the browser's functionality. The plug-inmay include instructions that can identify a resource address (e.g., auniform resource identifier, locator, etc.) for a content server (e.g.,content server 106 or 118, with content server 106 as the examplebelow), and instructions to allow a user of the browser to log in to anaccount that the user has with the content server, and to authorize thebrowser (or the computing device executing the browser, such as a PC117) for interaction with the content server, or vice versa, asdiscussed below.

In step 302, the user may initiate the plug-in, or otherwise initiate aninstruction or message to request to link the browser (or computingdevice 117 running the browser) to the user's account with a networkcomputing device, such as the content server 106. In response to therequest, the browser (via computing device 117 in the example herein)may transmit a request to the content server 106, identifying thebrowser (e.g., name and version of program), computing device 117 onwhich the browser is executing (e.g., media access control (MAC)address, serial number, assigned Internet Protocol address, etc.), andthe user (e.g., name, account number or name on the content server,password, etc.). In response, the content server 106 can verify that theuser's name and password are correct, and identify an account of theuser at the content server 106. The user's account can be, for example,a subscription service for data services, such as reception ofaudiovisual content.

As a result of the linking (or the installation of the plug-in), theuser's browser may offer a command function, such as via display of anadded redirection command graphical button, to allow a user to send apiece of identified network content to the user's own secondary device,such as a home gateway, display device, smart phone, modem, set-top box,digital video recorder, or other computing device that the user prefersto use with the content server 106 to receive content. As the userbrowses through various network content (e.g., Internet sites and webpages) offered by various different services (e.g., the various ownersof different browsed web pages), the plug-in can scan the contentavailable on a page being viewed, and identify media content that can beredirected to the user's secondary device. For example, the plug-in candetect the presence of embedded video links in a web page, or thepresence of audio files available for download, by comparing file nameextensions in the HTML (hypertext markup language) with extensions forvideo and/or audio formats, such as *.mpg or *.mp3. Redirectable mediacontent can include video, audio, and/or audiovisual content that can beplayed back on a secondary device such as a video on demand clientdevice.

If such media content is available on a site being displayed, the usercan select the added redirection command (e.g., by pressing a “Send toMy DVR” graphical button on the browser's command interface) to redirecta selected video from the site to the user's secondary device, via adifferent service associated with that secondary device (e.g., if thesecondary device is a DVR, then the company offering the DVR service tothe user). FIG. 5 illustrates an example display 500 that can include alisting of one or more pieces of video content 501, and a “Send to MyTV” button 502.

In step 303, the browser can determine whether the user has selected theredirection command If the user has, then in step 304, the browser maycollect information regarding the media content that is to beredirected, and can deliver that information to the content server 106using, for example, a user datagram protocol (UDP) message. Thecollected information can include, for example, information identifyingthe piece of media content. Such media content identification can be inany format or protocol, such as a uniform resource identifier (URI) orlocator (URL) indicating an address at which the media content can beaccessed. The collected information can also include informationidentifying the user, such as a user name or account number, and anassociated password that is valid for the user's account with thecontent server 106.

In step 305, the user's secondary device (e.g., the user's displaydevice or DVR 113) can receive a message from the content server 106indicating that the network source's (e.g., an Internet site's) mediacontent has been (or can be) redirected to the secondary device, and candisplay a message (e.g., a pop-up message) to the user asking how theuser would like to handle the redirected content. Displayed options caninclude, for example, adding the redirected content to a user-specificor device-specific playlist or queue (e.g., adding it to a user'sfavorites list, or to a listing of recorded DVR content, or to a listingof available video on demand (VOD) content, etc.), beginning playbackimmediately, or both. This message can be displayed substantiallyimmediately after the user selected the redirection command on thebrowser, and can appear even before the content server 106 has ingestedthe redirected media content.

In step 306, a network computing device, such as the content server 106(or the secondary device, such as DVR 113) can determine whether theuser selected to add the redirected network (e.g., Internet) mediacontent to any type of a playlist or queue. If the user chose to do so,then in response to the user selection, the secondary device can add anentry to a stored table identifying the redirected content. This caninvolve, for example, adding an entry for the redirected content to theuser's list of redirected Internet content. Such a list can be displayedalong with any network or user-defined list, such as a listing ofrecorded DVR content, and/or a list of VOD content that is available forpurchase and/or on-demand consumption. The entry can appear in otherlists as well. For example, the redirected Internet content can appearin a content interface, such as an electronic program guide (EPG) gridlisting of upcoming scheduled video programs. Such an EPG listing maylist entries for a plurality of video services (e.g., televisionstations, channels, networks, etc.), and the redirected network (e.g.,Internet) content can appear as its own service in the listing. FIG. 6illustrates an example EPG 600, with an entry 601 for the redirectedInternet content channel. As illustrated, the listing can identify theduration of the redirected content, allowing the user to gauge his/herviewing to coincide with other scheduled content. So, for example, theuser viewing the FIG. 6 example can see that if he/she were to watch theredirected videos A-H, the last video H would end at 9 pm, in time towatch the beginning of a Comedy that starts at 9 pm on ABC.

FIG. 7 illustrates another option playlist that can be used to presentthe redirected content to the user. In FIG. 7, the redirected Internetcontent is listed along with other content (e.g., VOD content or otheravailable content items) that is available for on demand viewing and/orpurchase.

In step 308, the content server 106 or secondary device 113 candetermine whether the user requested to begin playback of the redirectedcontent immediately (or within a predetermined time, such as 5 seconds).For example, the user could be browsing the Internet on a smart phonewhile watching a video program, and can decide that he/she would like toview a particular Internet video clip on his/her television instead ofthe phone. The user can select the play now option in step 308.

If the user chose to watch the program immediately on the secondarydevice, then the device 113 can inform the content server 106, and thecontent server 106 can proceed to step 309 and initiate a chunk-basedingest and playback process, for example, discussed further below withregard to FIG. 4, to initiate the video stream and/or otherwise beginthe ingest process of retrieving and transcoding the content from theInternet source to add the video the content server 106's service. Othertypes of ingest and transmission may be implemented as desired, such asany type of file-based or streaming transmission.

If the user did not choose to watch the program immediately, or within apredefined time frame (e.g., 5 seconds), then in step 310, the contentserver 106 can conduct an ingestion process. This ingestion process caninvolve, for example, using the resource address to request the mediacontent, comparing the format of the content to determine if the formatis playable by the user's secondary device 113 (or all of the user'sdevices), and transcoding the media content if any of the user'ssecondary devices cannot use the media content's current format.Multiple types of transcoding can be conducted, and one or more outputfiles may be generated to store the transcoded media content indifferent formats that are supported by the user's secondary devices.

Returning to step 303, if the user did not choose to redirect a piece ofcontent, then in step 311, the user's secondary device 113 can determinewhether the user has requested to playback a piece of content that waspreviously redirected. This can be done, for example, by selecting thecontent from the displays shown in FIG. 6 or 7.

If the user has chosen to play back redirected content, then in step312, the content server 106 can determine whether the redirected contenthas been completely ingested and processed into a format that is readyfor playback on the user's playback device. For example, if the userrequested playback from a DVR 113, then the content server 106 can checkto determine whether the ingestion of the redirected content hasgenerated a complete file that can be used to stream the content to theDVR 113 (even if the content is still being ingested for other formatsbesides the DVR 113).

If the content has not yet been completely ingested in a format duitablefor the user's requested playback device, then in step 313, the contentserver 106 can conduct the chunk-based ingest and playback routinementioned above, and discussed further below with regard to FIG. 4. Onthe other hand, if ingestion has been completed for the format needed bythe requesting playback device, the content server 106 can proceed tostep 314, and initiate a stream (or other transmission type asapplicable or desired) to play back the requested content and transmitit in a stream to the user's playback device. The process can thenreturn to step 303 for further redirection and playback options.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process by which the content server 106can conduct a chunk-based ingest, transcoding and playback procedure fora piece of redirected content that is requested for redirecting and/orplayback. In step 401, the server (again, this is an example, and thereferenced computing devices may be any desired network computingdevice) may retrieve the redirected content from a network source, suchas from an Internet source. For example, the content server 106 maytransmit an HTTP GET request to the URL of the server 119 that ishosting the content that is to be redirected. The network device, suchas server 119, can respond by delivering the file (or stream, or in anyother desired manner of delivery) containing the requested mediacontent.

In step 402, the content server 106 can examine the format of theretrieved, e.g. downloaded, redirected media content, and determine theamount of transcoding, if any, that will be needed to support theredirected content. This determination can be based on a variety offactors. For example, the content streaming hardware and software of thecontent server 106 may be configured to stream input of a certainpredetermined format, and if the downloaded media content is not in thatformat, then it may be necessary to transcode the media content to be inthat format. Additionally, if multiple different sets of hardware and/orsoftware are used for the streaming (e.g., if streaming services areoffered to support user devices having different capabilities), thecontent server 106 may determine that a plurality of transcodingprocesses will need to be performed on the media content, to generate aplurality of different output file formats to support streaming to theuser's devices.

In step 403, the content server 106 can determine the user's requestedplayback speed and current position in the content. For example, theuser may have requested playback to begin at the 0:30 mark in aredirected Internet video (e.g. if the user has already consumed thefirst 30 minutes of the content on another device), and to view thevideo at one-half speed. These parameters may be contained in theplayback request, and in step 403 the content server can identify thoseparameters for use in step 404. In step 404, the content server mayidentify a location in the media content file at which the playback isto begin, and in turn, identify a segment of the media contentcontaining that playback beginning point to be the first segment to betranscoded and ingested. The segment may be time-based (e.g., the first10 seconds), size-based (e.g., the first 500 Kb), frame-based (e.g., thefirst 10 I-frames of an MPEG2 video file), or any other desiredsegmentation or compression format that is supported by the transcodingsoftware/hardware available. The content server 106 can also establishtranscoding parameters, based on the requested playback speed (e.g., aone-half speed slow motion playback may result in a different type ofoutput file and/or different type of output stream from an ordinaryfull-speed transcoding).

In step 405, the content server 106 can transcode the first portion(e.g., a segment, fragment, chunk, etc.) of the media content item. Thetranscoding can entail reading the original media content file data forthe first segment, decoding it to generate the content (e.g., video),and then re-encoding the content using a different encoder from what wasoriginally used to encode the content, to result in adifferently-encoded segment of the media. For example, an originalInternet video may be in a first video coding format (e.g., AdobeFLASH™), and the different encoding may result in a second video codingformat (e.g., MPEG-2). This transcoding can be a hybrid between a“file-based” transcoding approach and a “streaming” transcodingapproach. In particular, the transcoding can process segments fasterthan real time, but could also give access to the output file before thetranscoding of the entire media content is completed.

In step 406, the transcoded segment of the media content may be writtento an output file at any desired location, such as the content server106's memory (e.g., a hard drive 205). In step 407, the content server106 can transmit the content to a local storage or initiate playback ofthe requested content. For example, the network device may transmit thefile containing the first segment to the streaming hardware/softwareused by the content server 106 to service video on demand streamingrequests.

In step 408, the content server 106 can proceed to identify the nextsegment and its corresponding transcode parameters. The next segment canbe sequentially identified as following the first segment identified instep 404, or it can be a different segment if, for example, the user hasrequested to skip ahead to a different portion of the program (e.g.,pressing fast-forward, or skipping to a later chapter in a video file).When the user requests to skip ahead in the content, the server 106 maysimilar skip ahead and omit delivering and/or transcoding the skippedportions. As will be discussed further below, such skipped over portionscan be subsequently transmitted and transcoded.

In step 409, the content server 106 can transcode the next segment ofthe media content obtained from the source (e.g., an Internet source119). This transcoding can be done in much the same was as it was instep 405, but with parameters changed as needed.

In step 410, the content server 106 may write the re-encoded version ofthe segment to an output file. The output file may be a different onefrom the previous segment, or it can write the new segment to the sameoutput file as the previous segment. The choice depends on whether thestreaming software/hardware of the content server 106 is able to supportdynamically changing source files for a live stream.

In step 411, the content server 106 can determine whether the playbackof the redirected content has reached the end of the availabletranscoded segments, such that no additional transcoded segments arecurrently available. This can occur, for example, if there is a delay inthe transcoding processor, or if the media content is only retrievedpiecemeal from the source 119, and the current playback has finishedplaying back the portions that have been retrieved thus far. If theplayback has caught up to the transcoding and ingestion, then thecontent server 106 can proceed to step 412, and continue inserting video(or other content) into the stream that is carrying the content for theuser. Maintaining the stream (as opposed to terminating it) can allowfor faster playback recovery when the next segment of the content isavailable, since reservations of resources do not need to be repeated.

The additional content added in step 412 can be any desired content tofill the time. In some embodiments, the inserted content can be a staticvideo image of the last frame that was streamed to the user. In someembodiments, this last frame can be overlaid by an animation of anhourglass or other animated icon to illustrate that the video is pausedbecause some additional processing is needed in the background.

In step 413, the content server 106 can determine whether the user hasrequested termination of the playback of the content (e.g., by pressinga STOP button, or turning off the secondary device). If the user has notrequested to stop the playback, the server can return to step 408 toidentify and transcode the next segment of the media content.

If the user has chosen to stop the playback, then in step 414, thecontent server 106 can determine whether there are any gaps in thetranscoded version or files of the media content. Gaps can occur, forexample, when the user skips over portions of the media content duringthe playback, such that one or more portions or segments of the originalmedia content do not get transcoded and ingested by the content server106. The content server 106 can identify gaps by, for example, comparingplayback time codes of the segments encoded and identifying time regionsthat are unaccounted for. Or, in a simpler manner, the content server106 can simply store information identifying each playback time (e.g.,time relative to the start of a piece of redirected content) when a userbegins to fast forward or skip through the content, and when the userresumes normal playback. The playback time in between these values canthen be added to a register or data structure as gap portions of thecontent that will need to undergo the normal playback speed transcodingat a later time.

If there are such gaps, then in step 415, the content server 106 canproceed to transcode patch segments of the media content to fill thegaps. For example, if the user had skipped from 0:15 to 0:25 of thecontent during playback, and that 10-second portion did not gettranscoded during the chunk transcoding and playback, then in step 415that portion can be transcoded to patch the content server 106's filesso that the content server 106 contains a full version of the transcodedcontent. Accordingly, should the user access the same content a secondtime, the user might not be required to view the hourglass animationthat was attributable to ingestion delays, as described above.

In some embodiments, a user may share Internet (or other network)content with friends in a social network. FIG. 8 illustrates analternative view of the system in FIG. 1, but with an emphasis on themultiple households and locations 801 a-d. In the example discussedbelow, a user in household 801 a may be browsing Internet content usinga smartphone 802, but may wish to redirect that content to devices inhis/her friends' premises, households, or mobile points 801 b,c,d. Forsimplicity, the local office 103 is not illustrated in FIG. 8, and mayinstead be considered a part of network 109. FIG. 8 also illustratesdirect connections between the gateway (within the home) and somedisplay devices, bypassing the set-top boxes. This is just to illustratethat functionality may be rearranged as desired, and the necessarynetwork communication functionality can be built into the display device(e.g., a television), obviating the need for a separate set-top box.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example method of sharing. In step 901, the usermay initially use smartphone 802 to log in to a portal/proxy requestserver 803. This may be done, for example, by having the smartphone 802navigate to an Internet address of the portal/proxy request server 803,and by having the user supply a predetermined username and password toauthenticate the user's session with the server 803. Although asmartphone 802 is used as an example here, the user can alternativelyuse any desired type of computing device. For example, a personalcomputer running a remote desktop application, or a tablet, can log intothe proxy server as well.

Once the session is established, the user can then create or access anavailable friends list in step 902. Creating the friends list can beaccomplished in a variety of ways. For example, the user can manuallytype in identification information of friends who also have registeredwith the server 803. This identification information can include, forexample, user names or handles of the friends. When the user adds afriend to his/her friend list, the server 803 may transmit a message tothe identified friend, requesting confirmation that the user is indeed afriend. If the friend confirms, then the server 803 may obtainadditional information regarding the friend. In particular, the server803 may obtain information identifying the content consumption devicesused by the friend. This information can include, for example, addressinformation (e.g., MAC address, IP address, phone number, etc.)identifying the various set-top-boxes 804 a,b that a friend may have,and/or the other smartphones 805 and personal computers 806 that thefriend may have. The device identification information can also identifydevice capabilities, such as screen resolution, sound channels, speakertypes, connection speed or type, etc. All of this information may bestored at the server 803 as part of the user's friend list information.

In step 903, the user may use a server 803 interface to navigate tocontent. For example, the server 803 may offer a browser interface orremote desktop window that the user can use to enter website addresses,conduct searches, and generally navigate through Internet content. Thecontent can be any desired content such as the videos discussed above,and may be offered by a content server 807. In some embodiments, thecontent may be user-uploaded content. For example, the user may capturea video using a camera on the smartphone 802, and upload it to thecontent server 807. Upon uploading, the server 807 may conduct one ormore transcoding processes on the content to generate versions of thevideo that can be played by a variety of devices, and can also generatea uniform resource locator (URL) that can be used to access the content.Such content can be stored on the content server 807 for a predeterminedamount of time, such as 20 minutes, and may be automatically deletedafterwards to conserve storage.

In step 904, the user may select to redirect the content. To do so, theuser may be prompted by the server 803 (and via the smartphone 802) toidentify one or more targets for redirecting the content. FIG. 10illustrates an example user interface 1000 in which the user is givenoptions 1001 to select one or more friends for sending. In someembodiments, the user may expand a listed friend (e.g., by clicking ortapping on the name) and see an expanded listing of the various devicesthat the particular friend has registered with the service. Note thatthe options may also include other devices associated with theredirecting user him/herself, such as a television in the living room.To support such a feature, the server 803 may store device informationfor the user similar to the device information stored with the friendslist. In some embodiments, this redirection request can be part of theuser's smartphone 802 initially requesting the content. For example, theuser's smartphone 802 may initiate an IP request for a particularInternet page, and the server 803 may split that request into multiplerequests: one for the smartphone 802 and one or more others for friends,as will be discussed below.

In step 905, the server 803 may begin a looping process for eachidentified target. In step 906, the server 803 may determine theultimate destination device for the next selected target. For example,if the user chose a friend “Bob” who lives at house 801 b, the server803 may identify the various devices 804 a,b that are associated withBob, and then determine which of Bob's devices 804 a,b should receivethe redirected content. This determination may be made using a varietyof pieces of information. For example, the determination can be madebased on usage status of the devices. If Bob is currently watchingtelevision on set-top box 804 a, and set-top box 804 b is turned off,then ther server 803 may determine that set-top box 804 a should be theappropriate destination for this redirection. The determination can bemade based on the redirected content. For example, if the redirectedcontent is a high-definition (HD) piece of video, and only one of Bob'stelevisions is HD (e.g., the one serviced by set-top box 804 a), thenthe server 803 may determine that set-top box 804 a should be theappropriate destination.

The destination can also be based on the friend's predefined userpreferences. For example, Bob may have indicated in his profile onserver 803 that redirected content should only be redirected to set-topbox 804 a. Bob can even establish different conditions for using thedifferent devices, such as setting times of day for when redirectedcontent should be directed to which devices, friends for which differentpreferences should be used, content types that should be redirected to(or restricted from) certain devices (e.g., R-rated content should onlybe redirected to my phone, and not the home television), etc. Thosepreferences can be implemented when generating the FIG. 10 list, suchthat registered devices can be filtered based on the friends'preferences. For example, if Bob's preference is to not use his LivingRoom set top box for redirected content from his friend Alex, then whenhis friend Alex requests to redirect content and sees the FIG. 10display, the display can omit an entry for Bob's Living Room device,such as a set-top box. In some embodiments, the list of preferences canbe absolute and prohibitive, such as the example above in which Bob'sLiving Room set-top box simply does not appear in the redirecting user'slist of FIG. 10 options. In other embodiments, the preferences may besuggestive, and a short tag or popup may be displayed to inform therecommending user of the suggestive preferences. For example, the FIG.10 listing for Bob's Phone may include the message “Bob has asked thatlarge video files not be redirected to the phone,” but the redirectinguser may nevertheless choose that option if, for example, theredirecting user really only wants the redirected content to appear onthe phone.

In step 907, the server 803 may identify the address information for theselected destination device, such as the device's MAC or IP address. Theserver 803 may also identify other device information, such as thecapabilities information discussed above.

In step 908, the server 803 may transmit a message to the destinationdevice, identifying the user and the redirected content. The content maybe identified with a URL, or it may simply be identified with its basiccharacteristics (e.g., video type, duration, genre, dimensions, etc.).

In step 909, the server 803 may determine whether the destination (orthe friend) wishes to actually receive the redirected content. As notedabove, the friend may receive a pop-up message identifying theredirected content, and may be given the option to view the contentimmediately, to store the content for later viewing, or to ignore italtogether.

If the user chooses to accept the content, then in step 910, the server803 may proceed with sending a request for the content on thedestination's behalf. Instead of identifying the proxy server 803 as thesender of the request, the server 803 may insert the destinationdevice's address or identifier instead. The server 803 may also insertin the request any additional criteria that would be used by the contentsource in delivering the redirected content. For example, if the contentsource 807 desires to know the device's display characteristics,software versions, applications running, etc., then the server 803 canprovide that information as well. To the extent that the content source807 initially requests this information in response to a contentrequest, the server 803's initial message to the content source mayproperly identify the server 803, and not the target destination, as thesender of the request, so that further inquiries from the content sourcecan be properly directed to the server 803.

Alternatively, the server's 803 initial request can still identify thetarget destination as the sender of the request, and furthercommunications may be conducted directly between the content source 807and the target destination (e.g., set-top box 804 a).

In some embodiments, the server 803 may act as a bridge, and may performnetwork address translation (NAT) to handle communications between thecontent source 807 and the destination. Additionally, if the destination(e.g., set-top box 804 a) does not have its own IP addressingcapability, then a corresponding switched digital video server mayhandle communications on behalf of the destination, and the address ofthat switched digital video server may serve as the address of thedestination in the discussion above.

In step 911, the content source 807 may then communicate with thedestination device to establish a session for providing the redirectedcontent (e.g., communications to establish/determine the CODEC,compression, encryption, etc. for the content), and from there thecontent may be delivered, transcoded and otherwise processed 912 oringested similar to that discussed above with regard to FIGS. 3 and/or4.

If the destination declines to accept the redirected content, then instep 913 the original user may be notified of this (e.g., via a returnmessage), and the server 803 may proceed to the next friend.

In some embodiments, this message may be a remote tune command,instructing the remote destination device to tune to a different source,or to prepare to receive redirected content. Such a command may beacceptable, for example, if the user were redirecting the content tohis/her own television set-top box. The user may have configured theset-top box to automatically accept remote tuning commands from theserver 803. In such a situation, the option of step 909 may be obviated,and the content may automatically be redirected. In such embodiments,the destination set-top box may be a digital video recorder that isconfigured to automatically receive and store the redirected content,and to display a prompt offering to play the content to the user.

It should be noted that the redirection of the uploaded content caninclude the various transcoding and redirection features describedabove, for example with respect to FIGS. 3-9.

The various features described above are merely nonlimiting examples,and can be rearranged, combined, subdivided, omitted, and/or altered inany desired manner For example, the method steps illustrated are merelyexamples, and the steps may be rearranged, combined and/or omitted asdesired, and additional steps may be inserted as well. The true scope ofthis patent should only be defined by the claims that follow.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method comprising: receiving, by a computing deviceand from a first device, a first request to direct multimedia content toa second device, wherein the first request comprises a resource addressassociated with the multimedia content; in response to determining thata second request for the multimedia content at the second device wasreceived within a threshold amount of time after the first request:initiating retrieval, by the computing device and from the resourceaddress, of a subset of segments of the multimedia content; receiving,by the computing device, the subset of segments of the multimediacontent; transcoding, by the computing device and based oncharacteristics of the second device, the subset of segments of themultimedia content; and sending, to the second device and beforereceiving and transcoding an entirety of the multimedia content, thesubset of segments of the multimedia content.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising: receiving, by the computing device and from thefirst device, a third request to direct second multimedia content to thesecond device, wherein the third request comprises a second resourceaddress associated with the second multimedia content; and in responseto determining that a fourth request for the second multimedia contentat the second device was not received within the threshold amount oftime after the third request, initiating retrieval, by the computingdevice and from the second resource address, of an entirety of thesecond multimedia content.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:receiving, from the second device and after expiration of the thresholdamount of time after the third request, the fourth request; determining,by the computing device and responsive to the fourth request, that theentirety of the second multimedia content is received and transcoded;and sending, by the computing device and to the second device, theentirety of the second multimedia content.
 5. The method of claim 3,further comprising: receiving, from the second device and afterexpiration of the threshold amount of time after the third request, thefourth request; determining, by the computing device and responsive tothe fourth request, that the entirety of the second multimedia contentis not yet received and transcoded; determining, by the computingdevice, that a subset of segments of the second multimedia content isreceived and transcoded; and sending, to the second device and beforereceiving and transcoding the entirety of the second multimedia content,the subset of segments of the second multimedia content.
 6. The methodof claim 5, further comprising: initiating retrieval, by the computingdevice and from the second resource address, of a subset of segments ofa remainder of the second multimedia content; receiving, by thecomputing device, the subset of segments of the remainder of the secondmultimedia content; transcoding, by the computing device and based oncharacteristics of the second device, the subset of segments of theremainder of the second multimedia content; and sending, to the seconddevice and before receiving and transcoding an entirety of the remainderof the second multimedia content, the subset of segments of theremainder of the second multimedia content.
 7. The method of claim 2,further comprising sending, by the computing device and to the seconddevice, a message prompting for instruction on when to send themultimedia content.
 8. The method of claim 2, wherein the initiatingretrieval comprises transmitting, to a uniform resource locator (URL) ofa source hosting the multimedia content, an HTTP GET request for themultimedia content.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein the resourceaddress comprises one of a uniform resource identifier (URI) or a URL.10. The method of claim 2, wherein the first device is associated with afirst user and the second device is associated with a second user. 11.The method of claim 2, wherein the computing device comprises a server,wherein the first device comprises a computer, and wherein the seconddevice comprises one of a display device, a smart phone, a set top box,or a digital video recorder.
 12. A computing device comprising: one ormore processors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the computing device to: receive, froma first device, a first request to direct multimedia content to a seconddevice, wherein the first request comprises a resource addressassociated with the multimedia content; in response to determining thata second request for the multimedia content at the second device wasreceived within a threshold amount of time after the first request:initiate retrieval, from the resource address, of a subset of segmentsof the multimedia content; receive, by the computing device, the subsetof segments of the multimedia content; transcode, based oncharacteristics of the second device, the subset of segments of themultimedia content; and send, to the second device and before receivingand transcoding an entirety of the multimedia content, the subset ofsegments of the multimedia content.
 13. The computing device of claim12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, further cause the computing device to: receive, from thefirst device, a third request to direct second multimedia content to thesecond device, wherein the third request comprises a second resourceaddress associated with the second multimedia content; and in responseto determining that a fourth request for the second multimedia contentat the second device was not received within the threshold amount oftime after the third request, initiate retrieval, from the secondresource address, of an entirety of the second multimedia content. 14.The computing device of claim 13, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, further cause the computingdevice to: receive, from the second device and after expiration of thethreshold amount of time after the third request, the fourth request;determine, responsive to the fourth request, that the entirety of thesecond multimedia content is received and transcoded; and send, to thesecond device, the entirety of the second multimedia content.
 15. Thecomputing device of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed bythe one or more processors, further cause the computing device to:receive, from the second device and after expiration of the thresholdamount of time after the third request, the fourth request; determine,responsive to the fourth request, that the entirety of the secondmultimedia content is not yet received and transcoded; determine that asubset of segments of the second multimedia content is received andtranscoded; and send, to the second device and before receiving andtranscoding the entirety of the second multimedia content, the subset ofsegments of the second multimedia content.
 16. The computing device ofclaim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, further cause the computing device to: initiate retrieval,from the second resource address, of a subset of segments of a remainderof the second multimedia content; receive the subset of segments of theremainder of the second multimedia content; transcode, based on thecharacteristics of the second device, the subset of segments of theremainder of the second multimedia content; and send, to the seconddevice and before receiving and transcoding an entirety of the remainderof the second multimedia content, the subset of segments of theremainder of the second multimedia content.
 17. A system comprising: afirst device comprising: one or more processors; and memory storingfirst instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors ofthe first device, cause the first device to: send, to a computingdevice, a first request to direct multimedia content to a second device,wherein the first request comprises a resource address associated withthe multimedia content; the second device, wherein the second devicecomprises: one or more processors; and memory storing secondinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of thesecond device, cause the second device to: receive, from the computingdevice, an indication of the multimedia content; send, to the computingdevice and within a threshold amount of time after the first request, asecond request for the multimedia content; receive, from the computingdevice, a subset of segments of the multimedia content; and thecomputing device, wherein the computing device comprises: one or moreprocessors; and memory storing third instructions that, when executed bythe one or more processors of the computing device, cause the computingdevice to: receive, from the first device, the first request to directthe multimedia content to the second device; in response to determiningthat the second request was received within the threshold amount of timeafter the first request: initiate retrieval, from the resource address,of the subset of segments of the multimedia content; receive, by thecomputing device, the subset of segments of the multimedia content;transcode, based on characteristics of the second device, the subset ofsegments of the multimedia content; and send, to the second device andbefore receiving and transcoding an entirety of the multimedia content,the subset of segments of the multimedia content.
 18. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the third instructions, when executed by the one ormore processors of the computing device, further cause the computingdevice to: receive, from the first device, a third request to directsecond multimedia content to the second device, wherein the thirdrequest comprises a second resource address associated with the secondmultimedia content; and in response to determining that a fourth requestfor the second multimedia content at the second device was not receivedwithin the threshold amount of time after the third request, initiateretrieval, from the second resource address, of an entirety of thesecond multimedia content.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the thirdinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors of thecomputing device, further cause the computing device to: receive, fromthe second device and after expiration of the threshold amount of timeafter the third request, the fourth request; determine, responsive tothe fourth request, that the entirety of the second multimedia contentis received and transcoded; and send, to the second device, the entiretyof the second multimedia content.
 20. The system of claim 18, whereinthe third instructions, when executed by the one or more processors ofthe computing device, further cause the computing device to: receive,from the second device and after expiration of the threshold amount oftime after the third request, the fourth request; determine, responsiveto the fourth request, that the entirety of the second multimediacontent is not yet received and transcoded; determine that a subset ofsegments of the second multimedia content is received and transcoded;and send, to the second device and before receiving and transcoding theentirety of the second multimedia content, the subset of segments of thesecond multimedia content.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the thirdinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors of thecomputing device, further cause the computing device to: initiateretrieval, from the second resource address, of a subset of segments ofa remainder of the second multimedia content; receive the subset ofsegments of the remainder of the second multimedia content; transcode,based on the characteristics of the second device, the subset ofsegments of the remainder of the second multimedia content; and send, tothe second device and before receiving and transcoding an entirety ofthe remainder of the second multimedia content, the subset of segmentsof the remainder of the second multimedia content.